Compression-coupling.



C. H. DUFFY.

COMPRESSION COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED IIov. I5, I9II.

Patented June 22, 1915.

noauto@ ananas Partnr onirica.

CRIMES HUGH DUFFY, '0T MUM, MAE'YLAND, ASSIGINOR'TD FREDERICK H. TWEED,

0F .CHICAHQ ILLINIS.

COMPRESSION- GOUJE'LJING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Applioationled'November 15, 19H. vSerial No. 660,480.

To all 101mm it may concern: A

Be it known that I, CHARLES HUGH Dorm', a citizen of the United States,residing at Laurel, in the county of Howard and State of Maryland, ihaveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in-Com pression-Couplings;and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled intheart -to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference beinghad to .the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This inventionrelates -to "the -classof pipe couplings, but ymoreparticularly to a compression coupling to vbe primarily-used 1nconnection with brass-and copper tubingand the like to couple `two tubesections together or to couple a tube section to an element such as atank or the like.

The invention is"therefore particularly adapted for use in gasolenefeeds from tanks to internal combustion engines and in lubricatingsystems therefor as will hereinafter more fully appear.

The invention has for its object to p rovide a solderless coupling `fortubing, pipe and the like wherein the tubing, pipe or the like isengaged and gripped'by the coupling at two separate ,and distinct points.in such manner that the tubing, pipe or the like 1s rigidly heldagainst wabbling, and is thereby less liable to become Lloosened byshocks, strains or vibrations.

lThe .invention has for :its object -to provide a solderless couplingfor tubing and the like which embodies extreme simplicity, strength andrigidity and which .comprises no tapered compression collar or otherpacking or couplingelement independentof and separate from the primarycoupling members.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and eiiicientcoupling for tubes and the like which will effectually couple or connecttube sections without threading or soldering the same and which requiresno packing ring or other expedientin order to effect va gas-tight unionbetween the coupled tube sections or between a tube section and anotherelement.

A further object of the invention is to provide a coupling of thecharacter indicated in which a more effective union between the tube andthe coupling members is obtained than is usual with Athis class ofdevices in such manner that an absolutely gastight connection is quicklyand .readily accomplished and effectively maintained, and which when incoupled position is locked or jammed and ltherefore less liable tobecome -loose under strains, shocks or from vibration.

A further object of the invention is to provide a -coupling of thecharacter indicated in which a ground union is eected between thecoupling members to better produce a gas-tight juncture, and in which' aground union is e'ected between the couplin and 4the tube.

ith these and other obvious objects in view the invention consists inthe novel construction of the coupling members and particularly in thetapered construction of the rotatable male coupling member which coactswith the relatively non-rotating female member in such manner that thetaper on the said male member becomes distorted `and tightly encompassesor embraces the coupled element or compresses and contracts the same rtosuch an extent that the said distorted taper is vforced beyond theregular surface of tube or coupled element, thus forming an annulardepression or groove in the said ltube or coupled element to effect thecoupling action.

The invention further consists in the construction which provides forengaging and gripping the tubing, pipe and the like at two separate anddistinct points within the coupling in order to rigidly hold the tubing,pipe or the like against wabbling movement.

The invention further consists in the construction which provides forrotating the tapered portion of the male coupling member relatively tothe female coupling member and for engaging the same in such manner thata ground union is eifected between the said tapered portion and the saidfemale coupling member; and the invention also consists in theconstruction which provides for rotating the tapered portion of the malecoupling member relatively to the tube or other coupled element and forengaging the same in such-manner that a ground union is effected betweenthe said tapered portion and the tube or other coupled element.

'llhe invention further consists in certain other novel details ofconstruction and in certain combinations of parts, all of which will berst fully described and afterward.

speciieally pointed out in the .appended claims. A

Referring to the accompanying drawings which form a part of thisspecification: Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through acoupling constructed in accordance 'with this invention for couplingtogether two tube sections or. the like and illustrating the tubesections in coupled position. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional viewthrough a coupling constructed in accordance with this inventionforcoupling a tube or the like to an element such as a tank or the like andillustrating a tube section coupled to a tank. Fig. 3 is a longitudinalsectional view through the coupling as illustrated in Fig. 1, andshowing the coupling members in disconnected position. Fig. 4 is asimilar view of the coupling members which comprise the couplingillustrated in Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a phantom view of the couplingshowing a tube or pipe in position therein and illustrating the engagingand gripping action of the coupling at two separate and distinct pointsof the tube or pipe.

Like numerals of reference indicate the same parts throughout theseveral figures in which:

A indicates the coupling illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3, and B indicatesthe coupling as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4, it being of courseunderstood that these views illustrate vdifferent forms of the samecoupling and not modifications, while it will also be apparent `to thoseskilled in the art that still other forms of the same coupling can beemployed for different purposes, the subject matter of this invention aswill be hereinafter described remaining the same in all instances.

4As will appear from Figs. 1 and 3 the coupling A comprises threeprimary coupling members 1, 2 and 3, the double female member 1 beingprovided with a central hexagonal portion 4 to receive a wrench, whilethe extremities 5 and 6 are preferably round and smooth and reduced forthe sake of economy in material. Each'end of the member 1 is internallythreaded at 7, the threads terminating at 8 at which point an annularshoulderl 9 is provided. The bore 10 in each portion of the memberlextends from the shoulder 9 to the point'll, said bore being tapered asshown, the internal diameter of the member 1 at the point 11 being noless -than the internal diameter of the tube or pipe upon which thecoupling lis applied so as not to reduce the pipe or tube capacity byreason of the application of the coupling thereto, but must essentiallybe less than the external diameter of the tube or pipe,gfor a purposewhich will hereinafter be fully described. The two male primary members2 and 3 of the coupling are identical in form and are provided on theirouter extremities with a hexagonal portion 14 to receive wrenches andare each provided centrally with a smooth bore 15 equal in diameter tothe external diameter of the tube or pipe to be coupled in such mannerthat a close but slidable fit is effected between the coupling members 2and 3 and the tube or pipe to be coupled as is clearly shown in Figs. 1and 3; The central external portion of the coupling members 2 and 3 arethreaded at 16 to agree with the threaded portions 7 of the primarycoupling member 1, and the inner extremity of each of the couplingmembers 2 and 3 is provided with a long gradual taper 17, which taper iscarried to a feather edge 18, which feather edge of the taper enterswithin the rounded corner 19 of the shoulder 9, and enters the taperedbore 10 as is clearly shown in Figs. land 3.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 4, which illustrate the type of thiscoupling emplayed for connecting a tube or the like to an element suchas a tank or the like, it will be seen that only two coupling membersare employed, the female coupling member being indicated by the letter Cand the male coupling member being indicated by the numeral 3, thiscoupling member 3 bein identical with the 'coupling members 2 an 3 justdescribed with reference to Figs. 1 and 3. It will therefore beunnecessary for a proper understanding of this construction to againdescribe the coupling member 3, and the only variation in theconstruction of the coupling member C from that shown in Fig. 1 is thatone end of the said member C is externally threaded with prefer' ably astandard pipe thread 20 to enter a threaded element such as a tank orthe like in order to eli'ect a tight connection between -the couplingand the said tank or other element as is clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 4,the wall of a tank bein shown in Figs. 2 and 4 and indicated by t venumeral 21.

y In Fig. 1 the two tube sections 22 and 23 are illustrated in a coupledposition, While in Fig. 2 a single tube section is illustrated ascoupled to a tank or the like. In the operation of this coupling bothtubes to be coupled are placed in position within the coupling' member 1as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, said tubes entering the tapered bores 10until the ends of the tube or pipe engage the tapered walls of the bores10 and are thereby stopped. The coupling members 2 and 3 are passed overthe plpe sections as shown in Figs.3 and 4 and are threaded into thecoupling members 1 and C until they assume the positions shown in Figs.1 and 2. The extreme edge of the tapered portion 1'7 of the couplingmembers 2 and 3 entering withpled together.

entame f in the rounded shoulder 9ct the coupling member 1 furtherrotation vorf the coupling members 2 and 3 forces 'the said taperedportions 17 within the bores `10 ofthe coupling member .1. .As theannular 'shoulder 9 is rigid and cannot give to the progression of thetapered ,portions I7 of the coupling members 2 and 3 the said'tapered:portions of the said coupling members must necessarily be forced out oftheir normal form and distorted as shown in lFigs. 1 and-'2. This distortion-of the tapered portions 1.7 causes the same to tightly embrace:and compress the outer surface lof the tube Isections or other coupledelements and if necessary to suchzam extent that the :said taperedportions will pass beyond `the regular periphery of the tube sections orotherk coupled element form ing an annular groove in said tubeseetionsor the like as clearly'shown in Figs. "l and 2. The coupling member 1being stationary relative to the coupling members 2 and 3 and thetapered portions 17 off said -coupling members 2 and 3 rotating-againstthe rounded shoulders 9 of the coupling member 1 a smooth ground bearingor union is eected between the said tapered portions 417 and the roundedshoulders 9 in such manner that an absolutely gas-tight union is e'ectedat this point, while at the same time the tapered portions 17 of thecoupling members 2 and 3 rotate relatively to the tube sections or thelike to be coupled, and as the said tapered portions are forced intoengagement with the said tube sections or the like, and as the saidtapered portions enter the said tube sections or the like, a smoothground union' is effected between the said tapered portions and the`said tube sections which is occasioned by reason of the rotation of thetapered portions on the outer surfaces or peripheries of the tubes to becou- By reason -of this construction`an absolutely gas-tight union iseffected between the tapered portions and the outer surfaces orperipheries of the tubes or the like to such an eXtent that after thedevice is in coupled position as shown in Figs. 1

and 2 a rotation of the tube or tubes will not.

carries with them, or tends to carry with them, the tubes ,or pipes insuch manner that the eXtreme erfds of the tubes or pipes are forced orjammed within the tapered bores 10 to such an extent that the saideXtreme ends of the tubes or pipes are tightly gripped and wedged withinthe tapered bores 10 and.4 .f t5 at the same time the said tubes orplpes are gripped and compressedby the tapered portions 17 of ythecoupling members 2 and 3. lt will thus ybe plainly seen that the tubesor pipes are engaged and gripped at two separate andfdistinct pointswhich absolutely and eectively holds them against any wabbling|movementan'd causes them to lock up in the coupling ina streng and rigidmanner. lt will further be seen that inasmuch as the tapers are integralwith 4the couplin members 2 and 3 the .tubes become eXtreme y rigid when1n ya. 'coupled position, and by reason of the long bore 15 .1n thecoupling members 2 and 3 fthe tubes -or other coupled members areprovided vwith a long rigid bearing which precludes the 'possibll 'ty ofan accidental loosening of the parts. It will further be noted that asthe .tapers 17 engage the rounded shouldersy 9 and as the tapers aredistorted by the said rounded shoulders a jamming `act-ion is e'ectedwhich jams or locks the coupling members together to such an extent thatit is dicult to cause an accidental loosening of the parts by shock orVby vibration. It will be further apparent that as the extreme end ofthe tube or other coupled element enters the tapered bore 10 of thevcoupling and is jammed in said taper that a gas-tlght union is effectedat the extreme end of the tube or pipe which to- 1' gether with thegas-tight union formed by the distortion of the tapered portion 17 ofthe coupling, greatly and to a large degree increases the tightness ofthe coupling on the tubeor pipe and llessens the liability to leakage..y

Having thus fully described the invention what is' claimed as new and isdesired to be secured by `Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In areadily detachable coupling, a relatively lstationary female membercentrally bored to receive an element to be coupled, said bore providinga threaded portion, a tapered portion and a shoulder intermediate ofsaid portions, a rotatable male member centrally bored to receive theelement to be coupled and comprising a threaded' portion and a readilydistortable end portion, said rotatable male member being adapted toenter said female member, the said readily distortable end portion ofsaid rotatable male member being adapted to en age and rotate on ysaidshoulder in said female member to, grind a gas tight union therebetweenand to simultaneously be distorted by said shoulder and forced intointimate contact with the element to be coupled 'and to simultaneouslygrind a gas tight/,union therebetween, the said tapered portion in thebore of the stationary female member being adapted to receive the innerend of the element to be coupled, the said readily distortable portionof the rotatable male member upon its inward pro- A the coupling.

gression jamming the said inner 'end of the element to be coupled withinthe said taper in the bore of the stationary female member to form atight union between the inner end ofthe element to be coupled and thesaid tapered portion in the bore of the stationary female member in suchmanner that the element to be coupled is engaged and gripped at twopoints within the coupl'mg.

2. In a readilv detachable coupling, a

relatively stationary female member having an internal threaded portion,an internal l portion to grind a gas tight union therebetween and to bedistorted and forced by said shoulder into intimate contact with theelement to be coupled, to simultaneously grind a gas tight uniontherebetween and upon inward progression of said readily distortableportion to jam the end of the element to be coupled into the saidinternal tapered portion in the stationary female member to effect atight union therebetween in such manner that the element to be coupledis engaged and gripped at two points within 3. In a readily separablecoupling, a relatively stationary female member, means therein to engageand grip the end of an element to be coupled, an internally threadedportion and an internal annular shoulder, a rotatable male member boredto receive the element to be coupled and threaded for en- 'distorted bysaid shoulder into intimate contact with the element to be coupled andto jam the inner end of the element to be coupled into the said meanswithin the female member for engaging and gripping the end of theelement tobe coupled in such manner that the element to be coupled isrilglildly held at two points within the cou- 4. `In a readily separablecoupling, a relatively stationary female member, means therein toreceive and grip the end of an element to be coupled, a rotatable malemember, said members being threaded for connection together, a readilydistortable portion onsaid/rotatable male member, means within s 'dstationary female member for distorting 'said distortable portion onsaid rotatable male member upon rotation and inward progression thereofto cause said distortable portion to engage and grip the element to becoupled and to cause an inward movement of the element to be coupledthereby forcing the element to be coupled into intimate engagement withthe said means within the said female member for receiving and grippingthe end of the element to be coupled, the whole arranged in such mannerthat the element to be coupled is rigidly held at two points within thecoupling.

In testimony whereof, I aiiX my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES HUGH DUFFY.

Witnesses:

HARRY A. HEGARTY, W. D. SENAHAN.

